Summary
Overview
Work History
Education
Skills
Certification
Timeline
1d
David (DJ) Ryan Johnson

David (DJ) Ryan Johnson

Summary

I am a strategic business development leader with 14 years of experience driving growth through partnerships. Skilled in pipeline building, deal structuring, and analysis, I excel at identifying opportunities and negotiating high-impact deals. My ability to build key relationships and lead cross-functional teams ensures seamless execution of corporate initiatives. With expertise in business planning and strategic execution, I consistently deliver value and drive organizational success.

Overview

14
14
years of professional experience
5
5

Certifications

Work History

Director, Business Development Commercial Development

Yahoo
11.2022 - Current
  • Hired to focus mainly on new product ideation, launches, and execution
  • Reported directly to Head of Business Development
  • Created business plan, handled due diligence, pipeline creation, and signed deals on 9 figure a year revenue stream which had never been done before
  • Was BD lead for top partnerships which generated over $100M in gross revenue per year
  • Negotiated amendments which were valued at over $350M which required C suite and Board approval
  • Signed partnerships within highly regulated industries including healthcare
  • Worked cross functionally with finance, legal, partner management, data science, business intelligence, design, and leadership
  • Built pipeline from scratch and pitched new clients including Audi, Ny Giants, Firefox, Warner Bros
  • Discovery, Fox, CNN, UFC, Hearst, and others
  • Acted as generative AI expert for Commercial Development team
  • Created and ran training sessions for entire Commercial Development team
  • Built AI company database which was used across Yahoo including leadership and Corporate Development
  • Started and owned relationships with top AI companies including Anthropic, OpenAI, NVIDIA, Character.ai, and PandoraBots

Principal

David Johnson Consulting, LLC
05.2021 - 11.2022
  • Hired by Founders as consultant for two separate adtech companies including Beachfront (http://www.beachfront.com) and Airfind (http://www.airfind.com)
  • At Beachfront I helped create a robust Publisher pipeline and sign over 25 video publishers including MLB, Complex, G/O Media, & Abrams Media
  • Signed deals for Beachfront which produced over $2.5M in gross revenue from 2021 through 2022
  • Created a more efficient and effective publisher launch process at Beachfront with analytical rigor setting expectations and driving growth
  • At Airfind I worked directly with the Founders as a strategic advisor to help create revenue diversification
  • Projects at Airfind include all aspects of video, native and display media buying, CTV opportunities, and ad serving
  • Owned Airfind’s strategy regarding native and display advertising including new publisher partners, media buying, and operational efficiencies

VP, Partnerships

Align
05.2021 - 05.2022
  • Hired by Co-Founders as first employee
  • Created client onboarding and training workflows and processes for new partners
  • Built onboarding materials including client self-serve portal which allowed access to sales, marketing, and training materials
  • Owned all outbound sales outreach and pitches for brand new proprietary SaaS product to dozens of potential clients with ACV of $60,000
  • Provided specific guidance to product roadmap based on competitive analysis and voice of the customer
  • Worked directly with co-founders to build pipeline, strategy, and product roadmap
  • Sold a new vertical software to a traditional industry of architects, interior designers, and B2B furniture companies

General Manager

VidCrunch
12.2019 - 05.2021
  • Hired by lead investor and chairman of the board to run early-stage startup
  • Went from $0 revenue to over $1.3 Million in first 12 months during a global pandemic which hit the ad industry and saw a large decrease in spending
  • 5X revenue in year two
  • Increased headcount from 15 to 20 and oversaw international, remote team including ops, product, engineering, and sales during a global pandemic
  • Built business plan and financial models reporting directly to the Board of Directors
  • Launched 4 new products and services which saw large adoption (107 publishers in 1yr), increased margins by 48%, and eCPM by 103%
  • Built demand partnerships with Google, Verizon, Comcast, Pubmatic, OpenX, and other top SSPs and DSPs for display, video, and native

Sr. Manager, Business Development

Amazon
03.2019 - 10.2019
  • Hired as first business development lead for Amazon Publisher Services in NYC
  • Oversaw and grew 10 of the top media accounts which represented over $40 Million in annual revenue including QBR data analysis and strategies
  • Led all business, product, and legal conversations including pitching and acquiring net new publishers
  • Created strategies for gathering intel for potential new products and services

Director, Business Development

ICX Media
04.2016 - 02.2019
  • Company Overview: Acquired by Salient Global
  • Hired by Co-Founders as first business hire for Seed stage data intelligence DaaS startup
  • Developed over 30 proposals for potential clients including Viacom and Under Armor with an ACV of $120k
  • Acquired by Salient Global

Senior Manager, Business Development

SpotX (Acquired by Magnite)
07.2015 - 04.2016

Manager/Senior Manager, Business Development

SpotX
09.2012 - 06.2015

Account Manager

SpotX
08.2011 - 09.2012

Education

B.B.A. - Management

James Madison University
05.2011

Skills

  • New business development
  • Generative AI
  • Cross-Functional Management
  • Strategy
  • Business Planning
  • Data-Driven Decision Making

Certification

O'Reilly Media

  • Effective ChatGPT Prompts (2024)

O'Reilly Media

  • GenAI for Leaders (2025)

O'Reilly Media

  • GenAI for Business Analysis (2025)

O'Reilly Media

  • GenAI for Product Management (2025)

O'Reilly Media

  • GenAI for Marketing (2025)

Timeline

Director, Business Development Commercial Development

Yahoo
11.2022 - Current

Principal

David Johnson Consulting, LLC
05.2021 - 11.2022

VP, Partnerships

Align
05.2021 - 05.2022

General Manager

VidCrunch
12.2019 - 05.2021

Sr. Manager, Business Development

Amazon
03.2019 - 10.2019

Director, Business Development

ICX Media
04.2016 - 02.2019

Senior Manager, Business Development

SpotX (Acquired by Magnite)
07.2015 - 04.2016

Manager/Senior Manager, Business Development

SpotX
09.2012 - 06.2015

Account Manager

SpotX
08.2011 - 09.2012

B.B.A. - Management

James Madison University
David (DJ) Ryan Johnson